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Investigator vs analyst

The differences between investigators and analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an investigator, becoming an analyst takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an analyst has an average salary of $73,007, which is higher than the $71,406 average annual salary of an investigator.

The top three skills for an investigator include law enforcement agencies, management system and customer service. The most important skills for an analyst are customer service, troubleshoot, and data analysis.

Investigator vs analyst overview

InvestigatorAnalyst
Yearly salary$71,406$73,007
Hourly rate$34.33$35.10
Growth rate6%11%
Number of jobs5,085253,138
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 62%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age4444
Years of experience64

What does an investigator do?

Criminal investigators play an essential role in criminal justice and law enforcement. Their job entails solving open cases that may take them weeks or even months to accomplish. Collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses, and arresting suspects are among their many tasks. They work at every level of criminal justice and law enforcement. For criminal investigators to succeed in their profession, they should have sound judgment, strong communication skills, ethical standards, physical fitness, and empathy. They also benefit from strong job prospects, in addition to an exciting and rewarding job.

What does an analyst do?

Analysts are employees or individual contributors with a vast experience in a particular field that help the organization address challenges. They help the organization improve processes, policies, and other operations protocol by studying the current processes in place and determining the effectiveness of those processes. They also research industry trends and data to make sound inferences and recommendations on what the company should do to improve their numbers. Analysts recommend business solutions and often help the organization roll out these solutions. They ensure that the proposed action plans are effective and produce the desired results.

Investigator vs analyst salary

Investigators and analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

InvestigatorAnalyst
Average salary$71,406$73,007
Salary rangeBetween $42,000 And $119,000Between $53,000 And $99,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAJersey City, NJ
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew Jersey
Best paying companyAppleThe Citadel
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between investigator and analyst education

There are a few differences between an investigator and an analyst in terms of educational background:

InvestigatorAnalyst
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 62%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common majorCriminal JusticeBusiness
Most common collegeCalifornia State University - BakersfieldNorthwestern University

Investigator vs analyst demographics

Here are the differences between investigators' and analysts' demographics:

InvestigatorAnalyst
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 56.6% Female, 43.4%Male, 52.4% Female, 47.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 13.5% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 4.7% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 7.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.5% Asian, 14.3% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage8%12%

Differences between investigator and analyst duties and responsibilities

Investigator example responsibilities.

  • Participate in and lead the controlled purchase of illegal narcotics and firearms to apprehend suspects.
  • Manage all business reporting to include; payroll, taxes, client billing, account reconciliations and compliance reports.
  • Manage corporate-wide document production relative to complex litigation cases.
  • Receive multiple letters of commendation for effective investigations that lead to successful prosecutions.
  • Collaborate with federal agencies, including the FBI, DEA, ATF and IRS.
  • Write a detail case report, and attach all supporting documentation necessary to write up SAR's where necessary per BSA.
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Analyst example responsibilities.

  • Manage support incidents and mitigate customer issues meeting or exceeding establish SLA's.
  • Manage database including all ETL procedures, optimize SQL query to build an online sales platform.
  • Lead the requirement gathering effort from key customers for development of new JAVA applications and for troubleshooting customer issues.
  • Provide hands-on technical support and managing custom software, windows base systems, networking solutions, and database systems.
  • Initiate and lead quality improvement projects to address KPIs such as production, error rate, and turnaround time.
  • Help develop and handle both on and offsite SEO solutions as well as managing local campaigns and international SEO efforts.
  • Show more

Investigator vs analyst skills

Common investigator skills
  • Law Enforcement Agencies, 7%
  • Management System, 6%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • Criminal Justice, 5%
  • Senior Level Management, 4%
  • Child Abuse, 4%
Common analyst skills
  • Customer Service, 13%
  • Troubleshoot, 6%
  • Data Analysis, 6%
  • Management System, 5%
  • Project Management, 5%
  • Strong Analytical, 4%

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